Hard Disk Revies & User Guide

Hard Drive, Tape Drive, Tape Library And RAID Solutions

Data recovery software, hard disk recovery, file recovery software, disk recovery software, hard disk data recovery software, hard drive recovery software

Paragon Drive Backup 6.0 released!

By Anonymous

June 17, 2004 -- Protect your system and data against disasters! Drive Backup is complete and easy solution for hard disk backup, image, upgrade and cloning.

Paragon Drive Backup transfers all data - operating systems, applications, files - from old hard disk to the new one. Every file and directory will be copied. No need to reinstall operating system - boot areas also will be copied. New hard disk can have different size and geometry - partition size will be adjusted to the new hard disk size during copy.

Paragon Drive Backup can create complete backup of your hard disk or separate partition(s) without leaving Windows. In disaster case you will be able to quickly restore operating system with all installed and configured applications, restore valuable documents and files. Backup image contains the most complete snapshot of hard disk or partition - data files, system and hidden files, compressed and encrypted files, boot records - and after restore on either old place or a new place it immediately becomes bootable and workable.

You can create backup image of any Windows operating system without even interrupting it - due to HotBackup technology there is no need to reboot Windows or close any application. Compressed backup image reduces space required and can be created on any desirable media - local drives including hidden partitions of different file systems, removable media, directly on recordable media, external storage, network drives.

Paragon Drive Backup Main Features:
Supports remote management over LAN through TCP/IP or IPX network protocols.

Creating backup images on local disks, network drives, removable media (ZIP, JAZ, MO).

Cloning whole hard disks.

SID Changing utility - both as built-in. and as separate utility.

Image Mounter utility - restore separate files from backup image.(New in 5.5 version)

Compression can be optionally used for creating backup images.

Backup images can be split at specified part size. Splitting is automatically used for creating images on removable media storage.

Although Drive Backup can process FAT16/32, NTFS, Ext2/3FS, ReiserFS partitions more efficiently, backup operation is possible for any file system (even unknown by the program).

Autoexpand - the possibility to enlarge the size of partition during restoring from image file.(New in 5.5 version)

http://www.xkee.com/paragon-drive-backup-download/


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Hard Drive Selection

By J A Carpunky

Perhaps the biggest mistake people make when building their computer(s) is to underestimate the importance of the hard disk drive (HDD). In our modern society, bigger is synonymous with better, so when you go to buy a hard drive you look at how "big" it is, its data capacity. But is that all you should be considering when buying your hard drive?

Like every other component of your computer, the HDD is far too complex a system to describe in any sort of detail here, but hopefully by the end of this article you will know what to look for when you go to buy your new hard drive.

There are 4 primary aspects to look at in a hard drive (in order of importance):
1. Rotational frequency and average seek time
2. Buffer size
3. Internal/external transfer rates
4. Capacity

Rotational frequency has become a large selling point (5400/7200/10000/15000RPM) recently, so you shouldn't have too much difficulty finding out what the rotational frequency of your HDD is when you go to buy it. Now of course the faster it spins, the faster it can read from the disk (there are other advantages also), but be aware that the faster it spins, the more wear is put on the drive, and the more likely it is to encounter errors and malfunctions later in life. Hard drives are pretty much the only systems within your computer that have moving parts (CD-ROM, floppy disk drives, and fans also have moving parts, but they're all cheap and if they break you won't lose all the data you've accumulated over the course of owning your computer, be sure to back up your data regularly!). If you know anything about physics or engineering, then you know that moving parts produce friction and wear, and a faster spinning platter (the part that holds the data and spins) means more friction, and therefore more wear on your drive. Of course the faster it spins the faster it can read data from the platter. So what can you do? well again you backup your data as much as possible and you get the fastest spinning drive money can buy (which is 7200RPM for ATA devices (the sort you are buying) and 15000RPM for SCSI and some Serial ATA devices (you might get Serial ATA, that depends on your motherboard)). So look for a "7200RPM" label on the drive you're thinking of getting, it's important!

The "buffer" I'm referring to is the transfer buffer that temporarily stores data to read from or write to the hard drive. The reason for this is that the bus (data channel between the hard drive and the motherboard) can only handle so much information at a time, and it takes a long time for the data to be found and retrieved from a platter (random seek time), so it takes a big chunk of the requested data and stores it in a very fast data buffer to be sent at the bus's convenience. So with a larger buffer you can queue more data for transfer over the bus without having to keep sending requests to slowly find more data from the platters. Some newer drives come with as much as 8MB of buffer capacity, but it is more common to see 2 or 4MB. Usually a drive with a large amount will use that as a selling point and print it on the box/website, otherwise you can assume it has a 2/4MB buffer. My advice is to find one with as much as you can afford.

Now for the transfer rates you're going to need to do some searching, the best way to find these numbers is to go to the manufacturer's website and look at specification sheet for the model you're looking to buy (actually this is the best way to get all the information I've talked about so far). One thing to look out for is that you may read something that says 133MB/s or ATA/133 or SATA150 or 150MB/s, and these are not the numbers you are looking for, those numbers describe the bus connecting the hard drive to the motherboard, and are theoretical peak numbers, which tell us virtually nothing. Also, if you are buying a Maxtor, don't bother looking up actual transfer rates, as Maxtor is apparently afraid to release such information. Not to say Maxtor's are bad drives, actually Maxtor has risen to the top in terms of technical support and they are much more willing to replace broken drives than some other companies, which is important since some ridiculously large amount (something like 10 or 15%) of hard drives are either dead on arrival or die within the first few weeks of use. As with the last two points, when looking at transfer speeds (if you can find them) always try to pick the one with the highest numbers you can afford.

Notice that the first three of the 4 major aspects were all speed related? That was done intentionally to give you a sense of the importance of speed in the hard drive, because they are very very slow creatures, and for your gaming experience you don't need an enormous hard drive so much as a fast one. To increase speed substantially more you can set up a RAID, which is a network of hard drives which (in RAID0 mode) share portions of the same data, such that accessing data takes 1/n time (n = number of hard drives attached) compared to 1 hard drive. To do this you really need a hardware RAID chipset, which are commonly included on higher-end mainboards.

Finally, capacity is an unnecessary nicety. The smallest hard drives you can buy today that are still within those higher speed classes are all about 30GB, which is more than enough for your games. But since games are not everything, and if you happen to be an iTunes member or like to download anime then you will really want some extra space. So I would recommend getting something between 60 and 120GB, any more and you're going to be paying through your teeth, any less and you might be looking to buy a supplementary hard drive in a couple years. And, oh yeah, 300GB hard drives from Maxtor are out, but they are comparatively slow, so I wouldn't recommend getting one for gaming, I like to stick to single platter drives (40-100GB usually), as they produce less heat and are less likely to break down on me.

That is really all you need to know in order to make a good choice when upgrading your hard drive or buying one for a new computer. Of course there are many other resources on the web if you would like more detail on the inner working of hard drives. For more information visit htp://www.computer-gaming-system.com

http://www.computer-gaming-system.com

This article courtesy of http://externalharddisk.info/.
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Apricorn Introduces EZ Bus Mini 1.8” Hard Drive with Certification from the USB Implementers Forum

By Anonymous

June4, 2004--Apricorn, a leader in innovative easy-to-use portable data storage, introduced EZ Bus Mini, the ultimate 1.8” hard drive. EZ Bus Mini is the smallest external hard drive and disaster recovery system, and the only bus-powered hard drive to receive certification from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF).

Apricorn’s EZ Bus Mini features 20GB and 40GB capacities, 4200RPM hard drive with an integrated USB cable. The hard drive enclosure has a recessed compartment to keep the USB cable clear from view, and is bus-powered, so no AC adapter is required.

“Our EZ Bus Mini is the complete package enabling mobile professionals to easily backup and transfer files as well as safeguard data while traveling on business or commuting between home and the office,” said Mike McCandless, Apricorn Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “And the certification from the USB-IF furthers our commitment to our customers to provide the most reliable products.”

EZ Mini Bus is hot swappable with plug-n-play features and is only 15mm x 75 mm x 101mm in size, featuring a data transfer rate up to 480Mbps. Included with the EZ Bus Mini package is a travel pouch, encryption and synchronizing software, and back up software - EZ Gig II Hard Drive Cloning and Backup Software.

The encryption software included with the EZ Bus Mini secures and protects confidential and sensitive information. The software uses a mathematical process of scrambling data to ensure maximum privacy protection.

The synchronizing software allows for file sharing between multiple PC’s, ensuring replication tasks are efficient and maintain data integrity.

EZ Gig II Hard Drive Cloning and Backup Software for Windows, is one of the most powerful and user-friendly backup packages available, providing two utilities on one disk: Clone EZ and Image EZ. Clone EZ is ideal for users who require an exact bootable clone of their drive. A cloned copy is great for upgrading a hard drive or real-time disaster recovery. Image EZ is perfect for users who want a compressed image of either their entire hard drive or a partition. Image EZ compresses its backup image files, leaving users enough space to backup multiple computers, or maintain multiple backups made at different times.

System Requirements
Hardware: Pentium CPU, 32MBs RAM, USB, CD
Software: Windows 2000, Windows XP, MAC OS 9.2 and later

Availability and Pricing
The new EZ Bus Mini will be available mid-June 2004 in the US, Canada and online at www.apricorn.com.

MSRP starts at $199 for 20GB version

Warranty: 3 year limited

About Apricorn:
Apricorn provides innovative, easy-to-use data storage and transfer products that enable mobile professionals to maximize their laptop and desktop system performance. During the company’s 20-year history, Apricorn has brought to market over 500 memory and storage expansion products, establishing a strong reputation as a top provider of portable computing peripherals and memory modules. Apricorn is headquartered in Poway, California. For additional information about Apricorn products please visit http://www.apricorn.com.


This article courtesy of http://externalharddisk.info/.
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